forward to seeing the ocean view that Eloen talked about. He had seen large ponds, but the idea of seeing an endless body of water seemed exciting to him.
Over the past few days of travel , he had grown more comfortable around his companions. He had learned that they had been under Eloen’s command for over two years. She had handpicked them when she had attained the rank of captain from a group of promising young soldiers. While each man was talented, they also shared Eloen’s unique sense of bawdry humor.
As they se t up camp, Darryl a thin skeleton of a man with thick bushy eyebrows helped him unsaddle his horse. He was a nice chap, and as Thad learned from the few evening sparing matches they had, was ungodly fast with his dual blades.
“Want to try your luck again tonight? I think we got enough time before the sun sets to get in a round or two.” Darryl said with a light chuckle. Darryl had beaten Thad mercilessly on their last fight. For such a sickly looking person to beat him so soundly hurt Thad’s pride more than a little.
“Sure this time I got a trick or two that might land you on your back this time.” Thad said , placing his saddle on the ground to use as a pillow during the night, a trick Alden had taught him.
“Remember , no magic. I know you use it in a real fight, but I don’t want to get roasted because you got a little overzealous.” Darryl said mockingly.
Thad gritted his teeth and tossed his horse blanket over a tree limb to dry and grabbed a large stiff brush that Eloen had gotten for him when they were in Shiel. “As soon as I finish giving Apple a good brush down , I’ll knock you down a peg or two.”
Apple was very content with munching on her namesake. She loved apples, and a few days before had raided his sack throwing, all his gear all over the camp to get to the apples he had picked off a tree earlier in the day. He was so frustrated with the horse he had called her an apple headed fool the rest of the day, and the name had been adopted by the rest of the group.
It didn’t take long for him to finish caring for Apple and have her contently nuzzling him, searching his pockets for more treats. Laughing, he patted her on the neck then grabbed his practice blade and made his way toward the area where the rest were gathering.
The first bout was Alden with his sword and shield against Ballard and his broadsword. While Alden was sleek with a well-defined body he wasn’t massive like Ballard who was as tall as Alden, but nearly twice as wide with massive arms that looked like mini trees.
Thad watched as Alden danced in , scoring a slight blow on Ballard’s arm leaving a thin light blue mark indicating a shallow cut. He watched the match quite proud, not of Alden’s sword work, but his newest enchantment.
Eloen had made a comment that it was hard to tell when someone was hit during a heated match, so Thad had come up with the idea of a magic residue imprint left by the swords strike. If it was shallow, it would only be a thin line, but a full force connection would cause the whole area to glow brightly.
Thad continued to watch Alden dance in an out of Ballard’s reach , trying to score a critical hit while dodging Ballard’s powerful yet controlled attacks. Alden was able to score a number of hits and even a nice hit to Ballard’s side, but was finally taken down by a massive cross attack that caught his squarely in the ribs sending him flying a good four feet.
Eloen helped Alden to his feet , laughing as everyone else congratulated Ballard on his win. After making sure Alden was alright, Eloen stepped to the center of the open area and announced the next pair. It would have been simple for her just to announce the names but she had a flair for picking out new and unusual nicknames for everyone.
“Next up we have Darryl the dancing dullard a nd Thaddeus the maddening mage.” Chuckling a bit at the new names, Thad stepped toward the makeshift sparing circle to
Over the past few days of travel , he had grown more comfortable around his companions. He had learned that they had been under Eloen’s command for over two years. She had handpicked them when she had attained the rank of captain from a group of promising young soldiers. While each man was talented, they also shared Eloen’s unique sense of bawdry humor.
As they se t up camp, Darryl a thin skeleton of a man with thick bushy eyebrows helped him unsaddle his horse. He was a nice chap, and as Thad learned from the few evening sparing matches they had, was ungodly fast with his dual blades.
“Want to try your luck again tonight? I think we got enough time before the sun sets to get in a round or two.” Darryl said with a light chuckle. Darryl had beaten Thad mercilessly on their last fight. For such a sickly looking person to beat him so soundly hurt Thad’s pride more than a little.
“Sure this time I got a trick or two that might land you on your back this time.” Thad said , placing his saddle on the ground to use as a pillow during the night, a trick Alden had taught him.
“Remember , no magic. I know you use it in a real fight, but I don’t want to get roasted because you got a little overzealous.” Darryl said mockingly.
Thad gritted his teeth and tossed his horse blanket over a tree limb to dry and grabbed a large stiff brush that Eloen had gotten for him when they were in Shiel. “As soon as I finish giving Apple a good brush down , I’ll knock you down a peg or two.”
Apple was very content with munching on her namesake. She loved apples, and a few days before had raided his sack throwing, all his gear all over the camp to get to the apples he had picked off a tree earlier in the day. He was so frustrated with the horse he had called her an apple headed fool the rest of the day, and the name had been adopted by the rest of the group.
It didn’t take long for him to finish caring for Apple and have her contently nuzzling him, searching his pockets for more treats. Laughing, he patted her on the neck then grabbed his practice blade and made his way toward the area where the rest were gathering.
The first bout was Alden with his sword and shield against Ballard and his broadsword. While Alden was sleek with a well-defined body he wasn’t massive like Ballard who was as tall as Alden, but nearly twice as wide with massive arms that looked like mini trees.
Thad watched as Alden danced in , scoring a slight blow on Ballard’s arm leaving a thin light blue mark indicating a shallow cut. He watched the match quite proud, not of Alden’s sword work, but his newest enchantment.
Eloen had made a comment that it was hard to tell when someone was hit during a heated match, so Thad had come up with the idea of a magic residue imprint left by the swords strike. If it was shallow, it would only be a thin line, but a full force connection would cause the whole area to glow brightly.
Thad continued to watch Alden dance in an out of Ballard’s reach , trying to score a critical hit while dodging Ballard’s powerful yet controlled attacks. Alden was able to score a number of hits and even a nice hit to Ballard’s side, but was finally taken down by a massive cross attack that caught his squarely in the ribs sending him flying a good four feet.
Eloen helped Alden to his feet , laughing as everyone else congratulated Ballard on his win. After making sure Alden was alright, Eloen stepped to the center of the open area and announced the next pair. It would have been simple for her just to announce the names but she had a flair for picking out new and unusual nicknames for everyone.
“Next up we have Darryl the dancing dullard a nd Thaddeus the maddening mage.” Chuckling a bit at the new names, Thad stepped toward the makeshift sparing circle to
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